The Ladies of Jazz

[nj2009]

After reading the thread Jazz and Testosterone (http://forum.saxontheweb.net/forumdisplay.php?f=134) I decided to open a thread about women and Jazz. I did a search and didn't find any other thread so, I hope I'm not repeating the information here.

The following video documents several female bands that made a mark in the female jazz history. Bands like:

The Melodiers or The Blond Bomb Shell

Ada Leonard

Rita Rio

The sweet hearts

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQmsJp85z7E&eurl=

There is an interesting article that goes into more detail on the following address:
http://nfo.net/usa/females.html

Trombonist Melba Liston traveled with Dizzy Gillespie's band during the late 40s. She was an accomplished composer-arranger as well as a master of improvisation. Source: Ebony (http://books.google.com/books?id=2csDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA122&dq=female+jazz+band&lr=&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES)

I hope other contributors expand this information and possibly bring something new that is not in the web as of yet

[JayeSF]

Billy Tipton....somewhat an asterisk... because she pretended to be a he....

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=7456

...man, what a story....reality stranger than fiction, totally....

I think you absolutely have got to put Candy Dulfer in here...she may seriously be the first woman lead instrumentalist to really break the glass ceiling....

Also of note would be the drummers Cindy Blackman and Terri Lynne Carrington...but I digress, because this is sax-related women, I assume...

I am a bit surprised I am the first respondent to this thread...it's been 5 mos...

[DanPerezSax]

Toshiko...

[Brooklynsax]

Don't forget Mary Lou Williams, a giant among jazz pianists. Check her out.

[DiscipleoftheRefs]

Hiromi Uehara. Amazing jazz pianist. Her group Sonicbloom is wonderful.

Also Ada Rovatti. She is basically the female version of Michael Brecker playing wise. She is married to Randy Brecker.

[harmonizerNJ]

Toshiko...

dang, you beat me to it.

Ella and Billie.

[gary]

If we consider vocalists, the list is endless - and probably pretty redundant without any surprises.

May I suggest that it might be more instructive if this list was about women writers and instrumentalists who had a role historically in jazz? I kind'a got that historic vibe from the OP anyway.

Without even opening the thread, my first reaction was also, Melba Liston.
Marianne McPartland
Lil Hardin (Armstrong)
Dolly Douroux Adams
Sweet Emma Barrett

[tenor71363]

Didn't Jeri Southern play piano? Or was she strictly a vocalist?

[hakukani]

Joanne Brackeen

http://www.joannebrackeenjazz.com/

Carla Bley

[gary]

Joanne Brackeen
Carla Bley

I'm embarrassed. Yes sir, Joanne and Carla, you bet'cha.
Also trumpeter Valaida Snow
saxophonist Vi Redd
pianist Hazel Scott
altough contemporary, I think soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom belongs on this list for what she has accopmlished.
Maria Schneider, another ground breaker along with large-group composers Toshiko and Carly Bley.
Since there weren't many successful, known female trumpeters at the time, Ingrid Jensen deserves mention.

[Mick Stuppguy]

Diane Schuur and Diana Krall are know primarily as vocalists, but both can take the piano for quite a spin as well.

We Hammond guys are all awed by a young jazz B-3 player out of Germany named Barbara Dennerlein, who can cook a bass line with her left foot, play changes with her left hand and solo like a demon with her right. If you want a real treat and feel like stepping out beyond sax, check her out on Youtube.

You'll be amazed, and just might fall in love. . . I mean with the Hammond organ as a jazz instrument. . .

Anyway, somebody check it out.

[gary]

We Hammond guys are all awed by a young jazz B-3 player out of Germany named Barbara Dennerlein,

I dig Barbara! Uh, she ain't that "young" though, LOL.
And then, who can forget the unforgettable Shirley Scott.

[Mick Stuppguy]

We Hammond guys are all awed by a young jazz B-3 player out of Germany named Barbara Dennerlein,

I dig Barbara! Uh, she ain't that "young" though, LOL.
And then, who can forget the unforgettable Shirley Scott.

That's right - - you were right there in Ms. Dennerlein's stomping ground. She looks pretty young to me. And pretty fine, though I wasn't going to mention that.

[gary]

That's right - - you were right there in Ms. Dennerlein's stomping ground. She looks pretty young to me. And pretty fine, though I wasn't going to mention that.

BTW, as an aside, a lot of organists don't use the foot pedals, ro very extensively. Barbara plays them.

Another - the late guitarist Emily Remler.

[scargo]

On saxaphone, (mostly tenor): Virginia Mayhew

Percussion: Sherrie Mericle - and her all women's big band Diva

[DiscipleoftheRefs]

Barbara Dennerlein.

I checked her out on youtube and itunes and...DAMN! That women has a nice left foot:twisted:

[JayeSF]

Awright, folks...NNNNNOW we're talkin' !!!

Wonder if the OP still visits here, though ? Hasn't posted since 2/25/09....Hope so.

Gary...yes, exactly...vocalists galore...it was kind of the only acceptable "slot" for women in Jazz for many generations...which is why this thread can be so interesting, and challenging....But instrumentalists and composers, that gets to the heart of it...

Emily Remler..cannot believe I forgot her...

...did anyone mention Marian McPartland ????

....here's another : Bertha Hope (widow of late pianist Elmo, and IMHO, a superior musician)....

[Flâneur]

Shirley Horn was a serious pianist as well as a great vocalist.

[gary]

1.) Awright, folks...NNNNNOW we're talkin'. Wonder if the OP still visits here, though?
2.)...did anyone mention Marian McPartland ????
1.) Who cares. Good topic and we're on a roll now, anyway.
2.) (pssst. post #7 ;))

[DanPerezSax]

Gloria Coleman

[electricfigue]

Allways present: Emily Remler.

"I may look like a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey, but inside I’m a 50-year-old, heavyset black man with a big thumb, like Wes Montgomery." ~Emily Remler~

[Rennie]

- self deleted (didn't see gary's first post in this thread where he named melba an lil!)


Reine

[porbem]

A few more names (lots of drummers, a few pianists and some saxophonists):
Barbara Donald
Lotte Anker
Lisa Ullen
Marilyn Crispell
Marilyn Mazur
Karen Borca
Sylvie Courvoisier
Joelle Leandre
Ingrid Laubrock
Irene Schweiser
Aki Takase
Katharina Weber
Lauren Newton
Ingrid Jensen
Cindy Blackman
Susie Ibarra
Toshiko Akiyoshi
Carla Bley

[gallerytungsten]

Well since this is a Sax site, I've got to mention Rebecca Barry, a fine player from Alabama who lived here in New Orleans a number of years. Great tenor sound and a singer too.

[harmonizerNJ]

Anyone who wrote songs like "Willow Weep For Me" or "God Bless the Child" would get my vote.

[Silvio Martin]

Eliane Elìas is other. She plays the piano and sings beautifully. I love when she plays Bossa Nova "Desafinado" (Out of Tune).